This NICE quality standard, published in September 2018, covers the organisation and delivery of emergency and acute medical care in the community and in hospital. It covers adults (16 and over) who seek, or are referred for, emergency NHS care for a suspected or confirmed acute medical emergency. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.

It does not cover the acute clinical management of specific medical conditions that need urgent or emergency care. This will be addressed within the quality standards for the relevant conditions.